


Amaranthine

by WonderfullyBatty



Category: Brave (2012), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Rise of the Guardians (2012), Tangled (2010), The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Dungeons & Dragons References, Fantasy, Fights, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Gay, High Fantasy, M/M, Magic, Other, Out of Character, Post-How to Train Your Dragon 2, Queer Themes, Sexual Content, Smut, Strong Female Characters, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-23 19:20:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21086486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WonderfullyBatty/pseuds/WonderfullyBatty
Summary: Our favorite characters are in the world of Faerun, the same world of the famed heroes, the Tres Horny Boys of The Adventure Zone podcast. They are adventurers, yet so much more. Follow them on their journey, through their victories, defeats, losses, and triumphs.I want to write a story with a lot of fun, a lot of fluff, likely lots of smut (eventually), and some plot-driving character loss. I hope this story can be a constantly evolving, always expanding story that leaves much room for one-shots and character introductions. Though I do already have a heartbreaking epilogue in mind... Follow us on this journey.... to The Adventure Zone.





	1. The Notice

**Author's Note:**

> I own NOTHING. At all. Barely even myself. The Adventure Zone belongs to some of my favorite crazy human beings, the McElroy Family. The rest belong to those large, overwhelming corporations that are great at sucking the money and life out of us while telling us that's what love is. ; )

The moon elf’s eyes glanced over the notice board casually, taking in the posted quests, tasks, and requests. One caught his eye. _‘Two adventurers seeking third companion for mission. Must be able to go unseen, must be able to hold their own. Safety cannot be assured; though payment is grand. Take this notification and we will contact you.’_ His interest piqued. The elf reached tentatively up, hesitating for just a second before tearing the missive off the board. He returned to his seat, looking over the scene in front of him. The tavern had a warm air and light to it; fire-lit places tended to be so. The patrons were scattered across the few tables occupying the floor space and the bar itself. A rowdy bard was playing in one corner of the bar, largely being ignored by all present. All of the unwilling attendees of this show seemed to agree it was better to ignore him until he tired himself out. 

The elf sipped at his mead, eyes unfocused, mind wandering. He had been in Neverwinter for only a few days now, just passing through as he did most places. He had found some fun in the large city, between helping out farmers with their crop, protecting children from bullies with his transformation magics, and swindling a few tricksters out of their coin. However, it was about time to get to work and find a new place. He had always been a drifter. Seen by few, known by fewer, much more accustomed to go where the wind took him than to stay in one place for too long. 

He was interrupted in his musings by a hand being clapped on his shoulder. Jack looked up to see a tall, black Tiefling man grinning down at him. The Tiefling was striking. He had iridescent purple/blue hair that fell in multiple small braids on either side of his face and in long, rippling curls down his back. He was not large or burly, though just from the grip on his shoulder, the Elf could tell that the Tiefling carried immense strength. His face, however, betrayed his form of his kind nature. The tall man’s smile was warm, despite the razor-like canines accenting his mouth. His eyes were a shocking emerald, a color not often seen in Tieflings, and they glinted with a warm, mischievous light.

“Hail and well met, stranger. I’m Jack. Who are you?” Jack asked of the Tiefling. The Tiefling remained silent, only raising his eyebrows quickly, as if to indicate a joke. A second of silence passed before Jack asked, “What, cat got your ton-” He was cut off by a light, yet full voice. 

“He’s mute.”

Jack turned toward the voice, taking in the half-elf man approaching the table with three tankards of mead. He too was tall, though easily a half head shorter than the Tiefling. His skin was a warm copper color, his eyes a rich green, both betraying his wood elf ancestry. Auburn hair flowed lazily, a few short braids trailing across his short, pointed ears. His frame, like the Tiefling’s was slender yet tight, muscles clearly filling out the dull scale mail armor he wore. This man radiated an air of kindness, evidenced by the tankard that was placed firmly in front of Jack.

“I see you are interested in our mission. I’m Hiccup, that’s Toothless. It’s great to meet you Jack.” Hiccup sat in one of the chairs at the table, as did Toothless. They both looked at Jack expectantly. “We have something we need done that neither of us are particularly good at. It requires a certain finesse, as the posting said. What makes you think you’re right for this job? Because if things go south, as they often do, the odds of your survival are slim.” 

Jack took a second, glancing between the two men. A grin broke across his snowy face.

Then he vanished.


	2. The Mission

Hiccup and Toothless stared at Jack’s empty seat in shock. “Oh, Gods! Yeah, whatever you just did will definitely work, Jack!” Hiccup said gleefully, grinning himself. 

As he finished speaking, a snow-white mouse hopped up on to the ledge of the table, cleaning its face and whiskers casually. It then looked at Hiccup, then Toothless, and clearly _winked_. It hopped backward, and in mid-air shifted back into the elf Jack. Hiccup and Toothless started in their seats, shock clear on their faces. 

Jack laughed raucously, slapping the table twice before grinning at the other two. “I’m a druid. And that never gets old.” He paused. “Think I’ll be good enough for your dangerous mission?” 

Hiccup and Toothless looked at each other for a brief few seconds, then back at Jack. And nodded. “You’re in.” 

“Alright. So all I know is that there is danger and there is reward. I’d like if you could expand on both of those for me so I know exactly what I’m getting myself into,” Jack said while leaning in and taking a swig of his mead. “But first, how did you get here so fast?” 

“Oh, that one’s easy. Toothless here set an alarm spell on the paper. As soon as you grabbed it, he was made aware. We knew someone tore it down. But how did we know it was you? Let’s just say you’re the most interesting looking character in here. That one wasn’t too hard to figure out,” Hiccup said with a grin. 

“Was it the white hair or the gorgeous face?” 

“It was more that you looked the least fragile. The pretty face didn’t hurt though,” said Hiccup, grinning. Toothless, to add emphasis, threw in a wink and a little eyebrow waggle. 

“I think I made the right choice ripping down your trick-flyer. Now, to business. What’s the job?” 

Hiccup reached into his pack and pulled out a small scroll of parchment, unrolling it on the table and holding it in place with the tankards and candle sconces. It was a plea, asking for a brave adventurer to infiltrate a nearby bandit camp, well known for its violence and greed, and steal back a stolen treasure. A family heirloom, meaning the world to the writer, who was offering a large sum of gold to whomever could get their precious item back. 

“Really? Just your run of the mill ‘retrieve my stolen item’ quest? What’s the big deal?” 

“Well,” Hiccup replied with a lilt, “We tried the not-so-subtle approach already. You can guess about how well that went.” Toothless nodded along with a roll of his eyes. “So we came up with a plan. We need someone on the inside, but not for the reasons that you’re thinking. Your job will be to sneak in, but not to steal back the heirloom. No. Your job…” 

XXXXXX

It is daylight. After going over the plan, which in Jack’s opinion was actually quite brilliant, they each returned to their respective inns for the evening, agreeing to meet at the city gates an hour before dawn. Jack now finds himself scampering through the BloodSpurt camp. His job is relatively straightforward, though tricky to pull off. 

_Step one. Get into the camp. Find the barracks or quartermaster, wherever you can secure a BloodSpurt uniform._ Easy enough, in theory. _Though, for you, it will be important to cover that white hair of yours. Though it’s a shame to hide such beautiful pure white hair, it’ll be a dead give-away. And it soon won’t be the only thing that is dead._

_ Step two. Blend in. Scope out the camp as best as you can. All barracks, all armories. This is critical. _ Jack, now dressed in red BloodSpurt leather armor and rags, walked through the camp, read bandanna covering his hair. All in all, there were 32 bandits. Each had their own bunk, each had their own weapons locker. 

_Step three. Disappear. You must hide until dusk. That’s when the fun starts. _

Jack pulled the decanter of white liquid out of his pack, eyeing it cautiously. 

_Be extremely careful with the Sovereign Glue. Once it sticks, very few things in this plane of existence can remove it._

Jack took a steadying breath and popped the decanter open, dipping in a thin brush. 

_Step four. Glue the swords to their sheathes, their axes to the floor, and their arrows to their quivers. Once you have done that, dab some on the doorframe. Glue them right into their own rooms._

Jack moved like a ghost, going from barrack to barrack, gluing weapons together and doors to their frame. 

Jack’s last destination was the Chief’s private quarters. This was the tricky one. There were always two guards posted outside the Chief’s room. They changed shift every four hours. The last shift had changed two hours ago. Jack had to be quick. One false move and he would be dead. He shifted into his mouse form again, squeezing in through a small crack in the floor of the room. He quickly looked around, wary, because the room was still lit. He ran underneath a bedtable to wait out the chief, hoping he would fall asleep before his animal form would wear off. 

Minutes ticked by. Then dozens. Then more than an hour. Jack began sweating, cleaning his whiskers impulsively, nervously. He knew that he could remain a mouse for so long. Hopefully this bloodthirsty creature would fall asleep before that … otherwise things would become messy. 

The man stood. Stretched. And began to disrobe. _Ugh!_. Jack looked away for this part. Seeing this monster naked was not part of the plan and he had no intention of participating in it. He heard the bed creak as the man laid down and shuffling noises as he pulled an animal skin over him for warmth. thought Jack.

Just a few minutes later, the man was snoring loudly. Jack slowly crept out of his hiding place, mouse form already starting to shift back out of Jack’s control. He successfully glued the Chief’s sword, axe, shield, bow, second axe, hand crossbow, whip, dagger, mace, lance, slingshot, and trident together into a massive, unusable pile of once-deadly trash. He was about to turn and leave when his mischievous senses got the better of him. Drawing his own small dagger, he trimmed some of the hair off of the animal hide. Slowly, extremely carefully, he applied some glue to the man’s upper lip, eyebrows, and chin. Jack laid bundles of the animal hair on the glue, soft as a feather. Luckily, for the Chief’s sake, he didn’t itch his during the minute it took for the glue to dry, otherwise he would have forever had his own hand stuck to his face. Jack stood and observed his results. The once-formidable chief now had a _ridiculous_ handlebar moustache, soul patch, and the bushiest eyebrows that the world had ever seen. With a contented nod, Jack turned back into a mouse and scampered out. He ran to the edge of camp where Hiccup and Toothless were waiting patiently for him. Shifting back into his elf form, he finally let out his repressed laugh. “You guys are not going to believe what I did to his face!” 

XXXXXX

The trio walked into camp, sword, staff, and wand drawn. They knew Jack’s plan went down without a hitch, but it was always wise to stay on-guard when in a bandit camp. Especially when said bandits called themselves the _BloodSpurts._ They made a wide circle around the Chief’s quarters, making sure to escape the view of the two guards who stood there, and soon found themselves at what Jack identified as the main arsenal. “I was only able to see bits and pieces of this place. When I’m a mouse I have the sight of a mouse, so most things were blurry. I know they kept their weapons here, and I saw a few chests, so it seemed the most promising place that they would be keeping this heirloom.” 

Toothless raised his wand, pointed it at the door, and a small _knock_ sounded from the lock mechanism. He gently pushed the door inward. Raising his hand, he conjured a ball of dim blue/purple light just bright enough for them all to see. 

The trio gasped. 

Jack had been right. 

Not only were there a few chests, there were weapons lining the walls. Weapons and items the likes of the three had never seen before. These bandits were well known in this region for stealing from the rich and hoarding goods, but they had never expected such a wealth of treasures. 

Your flyer was right, Hiccup. The payment for this is, in all senses of the word, _grand._

The trio split up, looking over the items in the room. Toothless moved to each item in the room. Each time he paused, Hiccup spoke up, describing the attributes of the magical item Toothless was identifying. 

“How are you able to do that? Do you two have some kind of mental link?” 

Hiccup answered for the pair, “Long story short, yes. I’m able to tell what Toothless is thinking, when he lets me, so I often act as his voice. This alone has saved us both quite a few times. 

“Huh. Neat! I wish I could join in on that, sometime.” 

“You say that now… but luckily you don’t have to deal with Toothless’ …. _sense of humor,_” Hiccup stated with a cough and an ever-so-slight blush. 

The three spent the next few minutes arming themselves with wondrous artifacts. For Jack, a ring of evasion. For Hiccup, a Spellguard Shield. For Toothless, two particularly amazing items; A Robe of Stars and a Rod of Absorption. The robe was a long, sleek, black garment dotted with shining silver stars. Around the collar were six larger, almost pulsating stars, radiating magical energy. The Rod was simple, made of black metal, about a foot long, and as told to Jack via Hiccup, it could absorb the energy of spells fired at Toothless that he could turn into his own spells to fire back. They grinned at each other somewhat greedily and definitely giddily. They were glad they didn’t have to try out their new magic goodies on the bandits, but they were absolutely eager to try them out, nonetheless. They managed to find enough gold to live comfortably for a quite a few months as well as the heirloom item they were looking for: a beautifully carved, filigreed gemstone egg. It was warm to the touch, though seemingly had no magical properties itself, according to Toothless.

As the three gave the room a final once-over, Jack noticed something leaning in the corner of the room. It was a simple staff made of gnarled, seemingly cracked, dark wood. It was taller than himself, pointed at one end and hooked at the other, much like a Shephard’s hook. It was easy to overlook, seemingly a simple walking stick sitting in a corner. But something in the back of Jack’s mind told him to grab it. So he did. 

Immediately, a burst of frosty air and snow blasted through the room, rattling the items that the team had left behind. That, however, was quickly forgotten, as Hiccup and Toothless gaped at their newly-made druid friend. 

Jack was _glowing._ The small tracework of curling blue lines that are common to most Moon Elves were now lit up in a brilliant icy blue. The cracks and veins of the staff glowed with a similar light. A chilly steam rolled off of Jack, teasing his pure white hair. He slowly turned around and faced the two shocked, handsome men. Jack lifted the staff in the air and slammed the end down into the ground, icicles shooting up around him in a circle, pointing outward, snow flying from the staff and his body, encircling him in a beautiful, dangerous aura. 

Jack grinned wildly. 

“Oh _fuck_ yeah!”


	3. The Town

Hiccup gaped at Jack, in utter awe of his minor transformation. Even in a world of magic, dragons, and mystical events, it isn’t every day that an elf just starts _glowing._ Much less an utterly gorgeous, toned, reliable, friendly, and admittedly sexy elf. He took in the delicate glowing patterns of what now clearly stood out to him as frost curling up Jack’s arms, around the outer edges of Jack’s eyes, and up his bare feet and legs. _He’s stunning…_ Hiccup thought. 

But there was only one problem. 

“Okay, Jack. We can discuss how gorgeous you look in a hot sec. But you do realize you just shouted ‘oh fuck yeah’ _IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BLOODSPURT’S CAMP!_

The joy left Jack’s eyes. 

“Well when you say it like that…” Jack was interrupted by the two bandit guards, formerly posted outside the Chief’s quarters, burst into the treasure room. 

“What in the shit is going on here?! Who are you people? Why is that elf covered in glowing party lights???” Their thick accent punctuated each sentence as the guard sputtered out his sentences in confusion and rage. His axe held at the ready, he eyed the intruders with murderous intent.

Hiccup, Jack, and Toothless all eyed each other quickly, then each sprung into action. Hiccup dashed forward, bringing his sword down in a deft two-handed slash at the bandit. Toothless pointed his rod at the same man, blasting him with a wall of force, setting him off-balance for Hiccup’s attack. Jack swung his crook-staff in an upwards motion, summoning icicles that pierced the other guard and stuck him to the ceiling. Within two seconds, both adversaries were utterly defeated. 

“Well that was dramatic,” Jack said, looking up at his guard on the ceiling then down at the guard on the floor, nearly cleft in half. “You two are no joke.” 

“Yeah, we’re pretty cool. But, you know, we are in the middle of a hostile bandit camp right now, so I’m pretty sure we should save praise and commentary for _after_ we escape.” 

Jack nodded vigorously then ran through the door, leading the small party out of the treasure room, toward the exit of the camp. Banging could be heard on many of the barrack doors, but the Sovereign Glue held fast. All things considered, Hiccup’s plan was genius. Other than a wish spell or the Universal Solvent, not much else in the world could remove the glue after it was applied. The bandits were effectively disarmed and corralled, eliminating threat before it could even arise, literally. The trio ran out of the camp without any further disturbance. Once they were a fair distance away, they slowed down and grinned at each other, reveling in their success. They took a short breather, referenced the map and found their destination quickly, and put a few miles between them and the camp and found a safe place to make camp for the evening. 

XXXXXX

The next day and a half was spent traveling, drawing ever closer to the end of their mission. Jack learned that Hiccup and Toothless had grown up together, Toothless being an old friend of his family. Hiccup’s father, Stoick the Vast, had never been the biggest fan of Tieflings, but Toothless’ bond with Hiccup was clear and he came around. Jack told them about his journey; how he had spent only about 40 years with his family, or so, not long at all for elves, before tragedy struck and separated him from the rest of his people. He was nearly certain they were dead. Jack had then spent the next 70 years floating from town to town, picking up magic here and there, spending most of his time in nature. As early as he could remember, Jack had always been drawn to nature. Especially winter and snow. Even during his lonely days wandering Faerun, he always found comfort and solace when in forests, when wandering mountains, or when playing in the snow. Thus his strong reaction to the Staff of Frost that called to him. 

Even just knowing the pair for a few days, Jack felt a camaraderie with Hiccup and Toothless. He was looking forward to the payment for the mission, of course, but he was not looking forward to separating from them. He was used to being alone, found some small amount of comfort in it, but when he was with Toothless and Hiccup, he found himself smiling, laughing, and joking more. More than with other people he had befriended on his journey. There was something special about these two, even if he could only speak to one tangentially.

They were around a campfire that Toothless had sparked up. By mid-morning they would reach their destination, turn over the heirloom, and the mission would be over. Jack spoke up, “So guys, I’m wondering. What’s the plan after we turn in the mission tomorrow?” 

“We were just talking about that, funnily enough,” Hiccup responded. “Toothless and I agree that it’s probably not a good idea to head back to Neverwinter anytime soon. The BloodSpurts will, well, they will be out for blood. So we were thinking of either finding a new job in town or moving on. Why do you ask?” 

“Well,” Jack started nervously, “I was wondering if I would be able to stay with you two. I’ve been alone for so long now and haven’t travelled with anyone in many years. But I like you two. I have no place I need to be, no place to call home, so I could stay with you until we wish to separate. You don’t have to answer now, I understand that this is a bit of an ask and I do not want to impose.” 

Hiccup thought for just a second before responding. “I mean I would say yes-,” Jack’s heard dropped, “But all the snow and cold winds have been making me shiver something fierce at night, so I don’t know~” he finished with a lilt and smirk. 

Toothless smacked Hiccup upside the head with his tail, looking at him with offense. He got up, walked over to Jack, and placed two of his fingers on the center of Jack’s forehead. Jack felt as if a bolt of lightning struck the front of his mind, but not painfully so. He took a breath, relaxed, and allowed Toothless’ consciousness to touch his own. Jack felt his presence. Toothless’ mind was vast, incomprehensible, and powerful, dwarfing Jack’s own mind. Then his voice rang clear in Jack’s head. It was warm, ringing, and clear, having the qualities of thunder, cracking ice shelves, and the pure ringing noise of a crystalline glass being stroked, _“You are welcome to travel with us, Jack, on one condition.” _

Jack opened his eyes and looked into Toothless’ undiscernible emerald eyes, _“Do not betray his trust, nor mine, as they are not given easily.”_

Jack thought back to Toothless, _“I am more than willing to abide by your condition, Toothless. I will not betray you.” _

_“Oh, that wasn’t the condition, Jack. That was a simple fact. The condition is this: You must tease the everloving shit out of Hiccup.”_ Jack gaped at the tall Tiefling, who continued with a grin and a wink, _“He likes you, and I’m curious to see where this goes. You make him laugh. Keep it up.”_

Jack looked over at Hiccup, who shot the two a questioning look. Jack looked back up into Toothless’ eyes and smiled, _“Deal.”_

XXXXXX

The trio strode into town the next morning, easily finding the large house noted in Hiccup’s mission scroll. They were in and out within half an hour, handing over the egg in trade for a few hundred gold pieces. Walking together through the town, looking for a tavern where they could dine, the three noted the state of disrepair that the town was in. Other than the grand house they just left, every other building in town was run down, had patched rooves, and thin, sad looking occupants. 

“What do you think is happening here?” Hiccup whispered to his two friends. 

Toothless’ tail twitched in annoyance._ “Nothing good… Let’s ask around when we get our lunch.”_

The three did just that. The town was a mix of a farming and mining community, both run by the same company. Many of the smaller towns in this part of the world were like it. Recently, however, the mine had all but run dry. Without the income, the farming slowed too, with no money to pay the workers nor buy seed. The leader of the town, and the person who the trio had just met, turned out to be a tyrant. A master wizard. She took no pity on the starving workers, instead using her magic to force the people of the town to continue to work. If they resisted, she would simply blast them to pieces. 

\

“Well she sounds just wonderful. I’m so glad we just helped out a tyrant,” Hiccup said with a huff, running his hand through is hair, pulling it back in his fist. 

_“What are we going to do? I mean killing her will only do so much to help these people. They will be free, but they will still be starving.” _

“Well, if you two can handle the killing, I think I’ll be able to help them out with the starvation,” Jack said with a small smile. 

“Hey, I get if you two are okay with murder, but I’m not ready to use that as my go-to,” said Hiccup. “I mean threatening, sure. I can agree to that. But just walking up to this lady and stabbing her? No. I can’t do that.” 

Jack and Toothless looked at each other. _“He’s chaotic good, for the most part,”_ Toothless acknowledged with a shrug. 

“Alight, Hiccup. You can talk to her if you’d like. What I need to do will take roughly eight hours, so that’s how long you have until I go _talk to her_ as well. I get it, we are literally talking about killing a woman. But what she has done to the people of this town is unforgivable. I wouldn’t be able to leave here with that on my conscience. I do hope she listens to you, but be prepared for me to do what I need to do as well,” Jack finished, a determined look in his eyes. 

Toothless placed a hand on Jack’s shoulder and squeezed. _ “I’m with Frosty, here. We need to do something. I hope you talk some sense into her, Hiccup, so that I don’t have to slap the sense into her.” _

Hiccup sighed. “Tell me again why I travel with two chaotic neutral magic wielders?” 

Jack grinned, “Because we are cute.” 

Hiccup sighed deeply into his hands, also hoping to hide the slight blush that crossed his face. 

He didn’t succeed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay moral ambiguity!


End file.
